← BroadwayRadio
BroadwayRadio
This Week on Broadway for November 16, 2025: The Baker’s Wife at Classic Stage Company
01:14:08
Alex Lauer joins us from Minneapolis to give us a review of the pre-Broadway production of Purple Rain. Peter Filichia, James Marino, and Michael Portantiere talk about The Baker’s Wife at Classic Stage Company, The Queen of Versailles,
Loading summary
Transcript124 lines
- [00:00]
A
Introducing Family freedom from T Mobile. We'll pay off four phones up to $3200 and give you four free phones.
- [00:06]
B
All on America's largest 5G network.
- [00:08]
A
Visit t mobile.com familyfreedom.
- [00:13]
B
Up to $800.
- [00:14]
A
Per line via virtual prepaid card typically takes 15 days. Free phone via 24 monthly bill credits with finance agreement. Example Apple iPhone 16, 128 gigs $829.99 Eligible trade in example iPhone 11 Pro for well qualified credits end and balance due if you pay off early or cancel. Contact us.
- [00:30]
C
With stays under $250 a night.
- [00:33]
D
VRBO makes it easy to celebrate sweater weather. Book a cabin with leaf views or.
- [00:37]
C
A home with a fire pit for.
- [00:39]
D
Nights with friends with stays under $250 a night. Find a home for your exact needs. Book now@vrbo.com.
- [00:51]
B
A Fiddler on the roof.
- [00:55]
A
It sounds crazy, no? But in our little village of Emetevka, you might say every one of us.
- [01:04]
B
Is a fiddler on the roof. Trying to scratch out a pleasant, simple.
- [01:08]
A
Tune without breaking his neck isn't easy.
- [01:15]
B
You may ask, why do you stay.
- [01:18]
D
Up there if it's so dangerous?
- [01:20]
C
We.
- [01:23]
B
We say because Ernatevka is our home. And how do we keep our balance? That I can tell you.
- [01:33]
D
In a word. Tradition.
- [01:39]
A
Tradition. Tradition.
- [01:44]
D
Tradition.
- [01:45]
A
Tradition.
- [01:47]
D
Tradition. Tradition. Hello and welcome to Broadway Radios this week on Broadway for Sunday, November 16, 2025. My name is James Marino and in the broadcast today we have Peter Felicia, Michael Portantia and Alex Lauer. Peter is a playwright, journalist and historian with a number of books. Peter's new Day by day desk calendar, A show tune for today, 366 songs to brighten your year is available at finer retailers. Peter also has columns at Masterworks, Broadway, Broadway select and many other places. Hello, Peter.
- [02:24]
B
Hi, Peter.
- [02:25]
D
You are breaking the Internet this week, is that right?
- [02:29]
A
I had no idea.
- [02:31]
D
Your discussion about stubs, you know, your discussion about ticket stubs and people were like, not understanding what you were saying was like, people like, oh, they just boot my ticket. Or you can go to the box office and get a ticket. But you were like, no, they used to tear the ticket. People were like, people would touch you.
- [02:53]
A
Yeah, yeah. People used to tear tickets and you'd have tickets stubs. You had to have a ticket torn to have a ticket stub today, of course they scan them. So you have a ticket. So. But yes, if you go on Facebook and you seek me out, you'll see that I have a collage of ticket stubs from Way back when when they long before computer tickets. So, so it's fun to look at them but I'm surprised nobody mentioned with the prices. I mean, so you know, really I don't think any one of higher than $25 and like the frogs at Yale was $5. So those were the days.
- [03:33]
D
So I, you know, it's, it's funny, I, I, I, I might be misremembering this, but I think it's Adrian Brian Brown who posts tickets every now and then on like classic shows that he has seen in his lifetime. I think it's Adrian Brian Brown and they, it's always like you look at like $12 and 50 cents, you know, and wow, it's just amazing. But today's show tune for today is Flying Over Sunset.
- [04:04]
A
Well, the reason is that in 1938 a Swiss scientist named Albert Hoffman started the road on creating lsd. And LSD was an important element in Flying Over Sunset. The music that played the Vivian Beaumont some years ago. And what he did affected Cary Grant, Claire Boothluce, Aldous Huxley and a philosopher named Gerald Heard. Now there is no evidence that they ever met, but James Lapine, Tom Kitt and Michael Corey decided that they did. And that's what the show is about. And of course one of the reasons they mix them all up. As Peter Stone said when he wrote 1776, God writes lousy theater. And that's why writers have to come in and do their own thing. So I like Flying Over Sunset quite a bit. I saw it twice in fact, and I really hope that it gets another chance because I thought there was quite a good stuff in it.
- [05:06]
D
All right. Also with us is Michael Portantier. Michael's a theater reviewer and essayist. He's the founder and editor ofcastalreviews.com. he is also a theatrical photographer whose photos have appeared in the New York Times and other major publications. You could see his photography work@followspotphoto.com hello Michael.
- [05:25]
B
Hello.
- [05:27]
D
And yet again I have forgotten Night Life Exchange. So we'll try again next week. But Michael, you have an evening with Len Cario coming up that you're going to share with the rest of the World on December 16th.
- [05:43]
B
Yeah, I'm really excited about it. As I, as I've said, he, we all know his amazing performances and actually Len has continued to perform recently. I've seen him as a guest artist in several cabaret shows and he had been doing, I'm not sure if he did it this past time he had been doing the Broadway backwards series Every year. But he really has such an interesting career and I don't think that people often get a chance to actually hear him talk about his career and the legends he worked with. So that's what we're primarily going to do on December 16th at the Laurie Beechman Theater at the West Bank Cafe. And there will be, though, at least one or two little musical reminiscences of his career because we wouldn't want the audience to go away without that. And, and there will also be a question and answer period. So think about what you'd really like to ask Len Carry you and then come to the Lori Beachman that night and ask it.
- [06:59]
A
Would you like to know what I once asked Len Carry you?
- [07:02]
B
Sure.
- [07:04]
A
Well, you know, Lauren Bacall was said to be a very difficult woman. So I said, was Lauren Bacall nice to you? And he said, oh yeah, oh yeah, she was nice to me. So now we know.
- [07:22]
B
Well, actually I, I, yeah, I told him I would send him a list of questions that we were going to discuss. And, but I did ask him that one in particular. I said, you know, I mean, obviously we're not going to get into the horny details, as they say in, in Greece, but, you know, but the fact that he had some kind of relationship with Lauren Bacall while they were in Applause, I think that's kind of interesting.
- [07:48]
D
All right, talk about hot topics happening over at the Beachman in December 16th. So we'll see what happens there. Also with us is a special guest. Alex Lauer is with us. Alex is a journalist based in Minneapolis. He's the features editor at Inside Hook and runs a blog about theater in the twin cities called One Fan Show. You can find the blog@onefanshow.com or on Instagram fanshow. Alex, welcome to Broadway Radio.
- [08:22]
C
Thank you. Thanks for the invite. I'm glad to be here.
- [08:25]
D
We're inviting you because last week or the week before I put out a question to listeners saying, you know, if, if you have seen Purple Rain in its pre Broadway tryout, can you give us a holler? And you answered the call because you had reviewed it for one fan show. We'll have your review in the show notes. But as I read the review, I want to point out that I'm a huge, huge Prince fan and I really appreciated your, your review of it because it's not a stellar review, points out very constructive criticism. And when you were writing it, Alex, I'm sure that you were thinking your head. I never meant to cause you any Sorrow never meant to cause you any pain.
- [09:20]
B
There we go.
- [09:22]
D
So tell us about Purple Rain.
- [09:24]
C
All right, well, I'm going to take a page out of Peter's playbook here and start by mentioning another musical entirely. You know, the first song in Purple Rain reminded me of the Times They Are a Change in the original Bob Dylan musical, and not just because Prince and Bob Dylan are both from Minnesota. I never actually saw the Times They Are A Change in when it ran on Broadway. But I've seen a clip of the song Like a Rolling Stone which was performed on the TV show the View, and you can watch that on YouTube. But in the clip, when Michael Arden sings the lyrics of the title Like a Rolling Stone, balls literally come rolling onto the stage and then the performers start rolling around. And, you know, if you're translating Bob Dylan songs for the stage and you can't think of anything else but to go hyper literal, you're probably in trouble. And I think the same is true for Prince. And yet that's what happens in the opening of Purple Rain. So in the opening song let's Go Crazy, the main character, who is known as the Kid, is performing with his band at a club, and he sings a lyric about calling his old lady and hearing on the phone that she's having sex. As he sings this, a dancer comes on stage dressed as an elderly woman in a shawl. And then she rips it off to reveal a skimpy outfit underneath. And then she starts twerking. Next, he sings about the Grim Reaper knocking on your door. And an actor comes on stage dressed as the Grim Reaper. He also sings about a purple banana. And look, there's an actor carrying a purple banana across the stage. You get the picture. So, you know, I was really excited to see Purple Rain. You know, like James, I'm a Prince fan. I grew up in the same pocket of suburban Minnesota where he lived, and I was lucky enough to see him perform at Paisley park on April 20, 2015, in the early morning hours. And that's one year and one day before he died. So, you know, Prince has this special place in my heart. But this opening number suggested to me that the creatives didn't really know how to handle this material. And as the night went on, that turned out to be true. Okay, so let's just back up a bit here. You know, Purple Rain is a musical Based on the 1984 movie starring Prince, and the accompanying studio album soundtrack is the best selling of his career. And the creatives they brought in for this musical are seemingly Perfect. You know, the director is Liliana Blaine Cruz, and the book writer is Brandon Jacobs Jenkins. You know, the show's been in development for a few years, but right now he feels like a big get considering his recent Tony Pulitzer wins. And the musical story is similar to the movie, but Jacobs Jenkins and Blaine Cruise have made a number of pretty big changes. So what we have here is the Kid. He's a musical savant and the leader of a band, but he's stuck in this funk. You know, he's stuck opening for his rival Morris Day at this club in Minneapolis. And he's also hit a rut in terms of writing new songs. And there are two women in his band who say they have ideas for songs, but the kid doesn't want to play them or even really listen to them. You know, he sees himself as the creative lead here. But then a woman rolls into town and her name is Apollonia. And in the musical, she's not just a singer, but a songwriter, too. And she ends up inspiring the kid to write music again. But he does the same thing to her as he does to his bandmates. You know, he can't share creative control. And so Apollonia ends up joining forces with the other women musicians to form their own group. And this expands into a much more fleshed out female empowerment arc throughout the show. And there ends up being this kind of battle of the bands of sorts, you know, the kid and his group versus Apollonia and her crew who join forces with Morris. And the other important aspect to the story is the kid's family. Now, in the movie, the kid goes from playing at the club to a home life that's really defined by domestic abuse. You know, his father is violent with his mother and with him. But here in the musical, that abuse has still occurred, but in the past. So instead of being acted out on stage, the kid has these flashbacks to this abuse that are displayed in projections. And I think this is a huge mistake, a huge missed opportunity. I mean, this essential element that explains why the kid acts the way he does throughout the show. You know, this family trauma is basically relegated to a projection. And so you might be wondering about the music, especially because the Purple Album only has nine songs. Well over a dozen other songs written by Prince have been added here. And the songs aren't just part of Prince's catalog. You know, some are songs he wrote for others. And the songs are diegetic. You know, they're either playing them at the club or the band members are composing them or practicing them. So it's not really like a jukebox musical. It's not a bio musical. But it's important to note that the songs are more literally tied into the story than they are in the movie. But the music is one of my favorite parts of this show. And the music supervision, arrangements and orchestrations are by Jason Michael Webb, who interestingly also worked on MJ the Musical. And it really sounds authentic to Prince. You know, there are only seven musicians in the band, but that feels right. This feels like a rock show and they put out this really electrifying sound. But looking at Purple Rain as a whole, I think there's certainly a lot of tweaking that needs to happen before the show goes to Broadway. But to me, the show has one fatal flaw that I'm not sure they can overcome. And it's the book by Brandon Jacobs Jenkins. Instead of adding more emotional potency to the story of the movie, he's instead added cliches, anachronisms, clunky exposition, and an After School Special quality to the whole affair. Now, the actor Chris Collins, who plays Prince's role of the kid, certainly is one of the elements that needs tweaking. What's notable about him is that this is his stage debut. So he's a musician, but he's never acted professionally before. But I don't think he's the weak link here. He has moments of real brilliance, you know, when the kid is professing his love to Apollonia in the song the Beautiful Ones. Colin, you know, Colin's, you know, he's writhing on the ground and he has this like, wail that really feels like Prince. And later in the show, in Act 2, in the song Darling Nicky, he's like tearing down Apollonia in this pretty vicious scene. You know, in that point, you may not believe that his character can be redeemed, but Collins, I feel like in that moment proves he has what it takes to channel an artist's that many thought to be unreplicable. And a couple other notes about some of the actors here. You know, Apollonia is played by Rachel Webb. I think this could be a star making vehicle for her, but the material really lets her down. Jared Howilton plays the kid's rival, Morris, and his performance is a comedic tour de force. In fact, on opening night, when I went, he got the biggest applause, which I actually think is another side of the show's weakness. You know, if Morris gets more applause than the kid, you've got problems. But, you know, going back to the show, feeling like an after School Special. I want to end with a perfect example of this one that comes near the end of the show, but I'll try and be vague to avoid major spoilers here. So near the end of the musical, the kid does something that alienates almost everyone in his life. And after this moment, we see him in his apartment alone, and he slips a cord around his neck as if to hang himself. And that's not really a spoiler. That's kind of in the movie too. But before he can, someone knocks at his door, and it's two of his bandmates. And when this moment arrived, I'm sitting in the audience wondering, you know, will the kid finally apologize to them? Will he face down his family, trauma, and the pain he's caused others? Will he finally have this reckoning as he does in the movie? No, this does not happen at all. Instead, his friends say, you know, we did some digging and found out that you've had a rough life, so we can forgive you. After all, everyone in the band has something they're struggling with. And do you ever watch the news? It's tough out there. I mean, this is almost exactly what it said in the show. There are serious themes worth exploring in this musical. You know, in the movie, I think they did well by them. But here, instead of meeting them head on, Jacobs Jenkins wraps up with the message, hey, we've all got problems. And in ending on this note, you know, Jacobs Jenkins, whether he meant to or not, is essentially telling the audience the kids problems weren't actually worth exploring for the last 2 hours and 45 minutes. And you know, at the end of the movie when the kid sings Purple Rain, I always tear up. But here in the musical, when Chris Collins finally sings this iconic song, my eyes were dry. And I had the feeling the same was true for the rest of the audience.
- [19:18]
D
So I think they have a lot of work to do on Purple Rain. It was interesting to me that while Purple Rain sold a lot of albums, the movie itself was not widely well received. According to Box Office Mojo, it's got, from 1984 to date, $68 million in. In theatrical sales. It. It doesn't seem like many things that were destined for adaptation for a broader musical come in at such a low number. But the. As you mentioned it, Prince's Purple Rain soundtrack was a hugely successful selling album. So I. I don't know what that foretells, but I. I hope that they go back to the drawing board here and figure out how to make this work, because it doesn't seem to I'm looking at it is wrapping up in at the State theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's pre Broadway tryout this week, November 23rd. So. And there are plenty, plenty of tickets. Alex, tell us about how the theatrical community in the Twin Cities received this. What are some of your friends, family, colleagues that are well informed in theater thinking about this production?
- [20:57]
C
Yeah, honestly, it's been the excitement leading up to this premiere has been huge. I mean, I didn't mention this, but you know, First Avenue, the club that's portrayed in the show, which, by the way, is called the first in the show, not First Avenue. It's a block. You go down the block, you take a left and it's right there next to the State Theater. And so everyone was very excited about this. I mean, the creative team, everyone was very excited. They were being brought in. But the word of mouth has not been good, as you know, mentioned by the ticket sales. I mean, they did extend the show a week. It was supposed to end today, but before it opened, they extended it by a week, supposedly because ticket sales were so good. But I think it says a lot that after it opened, after official reviews came out, the ticket sales did not spike. So.
- [21:56]
D
All right, so to be continued. I'm sure we'll hear more about this project as it progresses towards Broadway. Alex, I wanted to thank you so much for joining us on Broadway Radio.
- [22:07]
C
Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
- [22:09]
A
You bet.
- [22:10]
D
All right, bye. Bye. So next up, Peter, you are over at Classic Stage Company to see the hot ticket in New York. Right now, the Baker's Wife. Tell us what you thought about this.
- [22:24]
A
I will tell you that Linda said she could see it 10 nights in a row. So that tells you something, doesn't it? And I loved at the end of the show when she pulled out her handkerchief from her pocketbook and dried her eyes. So it's that good. I saw the original Baker's wife back in 1976 in Boston. Very disappointed, especially because I bought my ticket in advance and Topal wasn't in because of a Jewish holiday. And they should have told me that at the box office. Sickness is one thing, but they knew he was going to be out. So I had a bad taste in my mouth about it and didn't really appreciate it. But as time has gone on, I've appreciated it much more. I remember staying Stephen Schwartz, Giano After God Spell Pippin in the magic show. We were so astonished that you could write in this way. And he was terribly insulted. He really felt that he could do this. Very easily and certainly the score is terrific and it doesn't sound anything like any of those three others rock infused shows. We're in France. We're in France a long time ago. And indeed, if you've seen the original movie, which is sluggish and not very engaging, Linda walked out of that and we watched it the night before. The fact remains that it seems like a musical that was written yesterday. Even though it is a classic golden age type of musical because it is so secure in what it wants to do. When you walk into classic stage, you're going to see they really spent money. Usually when you walk in there, those brick walls are brick walls. Oh no. They've been decorated tremendously. But I think the real success of this show has to do with the really is a very small musical. Every time I've seen it when it's been big, I started Paper Mill, it's been fine. But Rob Schneider did a production for his J2 company and it worked extraordinarily well and it was a small space. It is a small story. Baker is married to a much younger woman. She tries to be nice to him. She wants to do the best she can for him. She wants to give him her gifts of love. One of the great bolts of lightning songs of all time. But there's that young stud in town who's interested and it's very hard for her to resist. And very, very smart idea this Schwartz came up with when she decides to leave him that he's hot. But where is the warmth? I wish they were more in the book that really supported that. But nevertheless we do get the point. So not only is this wonderfully directed by Gordon Greenberg, who certainly knows the territory because he did it at Paper Mill and at the Minya Chocolate Factory where he had a good chance to do it in a small scale because that's not a big space. But the cast is amazing because you have so many wonderful character actors in the ensemble who really make the most of their parts. I mean, I'll grant you that many of our listeners may not know who Arnie Burton is or El Macuevo. I. I think, well, Will Roland too might fit in that category. I think they might know Kevin delaguila because indeed he made a nice splash last season or so whenever it was with Some Like It Hot. But they're wonderful character actors, not to mention Bob Cuccioli and Judy Kuhn who play a married couple who are out of love. We'll see what happens to them.
- [26:00]
D
So.
- [26:01]
A
But of course this is really the story of the Baker and his wife. We have Scott Bakula and Ariana dubose. I will say that Ariana debose does have a slightly more contemporary quality than she might give us, but that comes across every now and then. But Scott Bakula is fine as the older man who does his best, but really the score is so terrific. Beautiful, beautiful French infused music. Terrific, terrific lyrics. Lyrics that hot and warmth is only one example. So it really is a sensational show. I this is one of those things that if just in time were to close, which isn't going to happen for a while, you would say, oh, bring it to circle in the square. It's a shame that it appears that this will be the end of it once the classic stage engagement ends, because it really deserves so, so much more. So much more. And it was nice in circ in the U shaped configuration, the thrust stage configuration where you can see people across from you and you can see them really, really bringing out their handkerchiefs as well. So there's a very clever thing that comes from the movie involving a cat and it's, it's really a very smart idea. And I won't say any more than that because I'm hoping you're going to be able to get a ticket. But as James said, people are interested. Yeah. Where were you in 1976 when David Merritt closed it out of town where they never did business? You though Stephen Schwartz told me he, he was in favor of closing out of town and it's really something because the, the Plastics are up at the Martin Beck. I mean, you know, many shows that close out of town don't get that far to have the Plastics up already. But they were up and the show was down. So if you can get to Baker's Wife, don't miss this wonderful opportunity.
- [27:56]
B
Speaking of Stephen Schwartz, a friend just wrote me that Stephen was interviewed this morning on CBS Sunday Morning by, by Morocco. And I was thinking, you know, I, I, I know Stephen a little bit, but I not well and I, I, I would think his head must be spinning right now because on the one hand it sounds like this Baker's Wife is a big hit. The, I don't have to mention the anticipation, the incredible excitement about Wicked to But then on the other hand, you know, we have the Queen of Versailles. So, you know, I mean, he's, he's, Stephen has been through a lot in his career. I hope he's at a point where he can like face all of that with a certain equanimity.
- [28:49]
A
What I love most about him. I'm telling you, I've never seen anybody do it as well as he. And that is whenever I said to him, I love that part in the show where blah, blah, blah. And he always says, that was so and so's idea. He loves giving credit where credit is due. And he's extraordinary at that. And I really appreciate that because so many people when you say that and it's somebody else's idea, they say, thank you. Yeah, that was great, wasn't it? Not he.
- [29:16]
D
So one of my little pet peeves this week is that we're going to talk about the Queen of Versailles in a few minutes. But it got a New York Times critics pick. And the Baker's Wife got a perfunctory review in the New York Times. I haven't seen it, granted, I haven't seen it. But people I tremendously respect, including Peter Felicia, have said that this is a very good production and it's a very hard ticket to get. And the sort of New York Times just sort of wrote it off.
- [30:02]
B
Not the same critic, I'm assuming.
- [30:04]
C
No.
- [30:05]
D
So Elizabeth Vincentelli wrote the Baker's Wife review. So it's. Anyway, so the Baker's Wife is. Baker's Wife is running a classic stage company through December 24th. First, we'll have a link to that in the show notes. Next up. Oh, look, Michael saw the Queen of Versailles. Peter talked about it last week. I get strapped in later this week to go see it. So, Michael, tell us about what you thought of the Queen of Versailles.
- [30:46]
B
Well, I would say that Peter's review was far more positive, or to phrase it another way, far less negative than many. Most of the other reviews I have read and heard, I would. Most of which I would characterize as extremely negative. So I didn't know what to expect. And interestingly, at the end of the first act, my thought was I was astonished at how bad the reviews were. I thought it was fine. I thought the first act was interesting and entertaining. And I thought there were a lot of good songs in it by Mr. Schwartz. And I thought the book was well written and I could not get the vitriol. Unfortunately for me, I felt like everything fell apart in Act 2 before I saw this show. I thought, it seems to me that whether you or not you hate it might have a lot to do with how you feel, how you feel the main characters are being presented and whether you think the authors have a point of view about them or not. Because obviously I would think very few people nowadays, and especially in this historical moment that we're at. Would want to see a show that praises people who are just obsessed with wealth and with building the largest home in America just because they can, as they actually say, and sing in the. In the musical more than once. So I, I couldn't believe, of course, I couldn't believe that these creators would write a positive musical about this woman and her husband, you know, and they, and they did not. But, but I think. I think the problem is that you really don't know how she feels about it. She has an 11 o' clock number that, that might have been the point where we understood what she thinks about everything that has happened in her life. You know, the fact that she has had this great tr. Tragedy. More than one great tragedy happened while she was focusing on building the largest home in America. I mean, I think it would have been. It would have been a cop out, I guess, and so simplistic and I'm sure not true to the actual documentary, if she had suddenly had an epiphany where she said, oh, my God, I was so wrong and I was a fool and I did it for nothing, you know, So I don't think that would have been the solution. But. But here I just don't know how she feels. Peter mentioned the fact that there are moments in the show, several moments where you really feel for her, where she. Where things are not going well, and she's very plucky and she pulls herself up and she works hard to try to make things better again, and she tries to have a good relationship with her daughter and her niece. And so there is a lot of that in it. But. But I. I just don't know what the ultimate point of the, of the musical was. And that didn't become evident to me until act two happened. So I. I don't think I have a whole lot more to say about it other than that. I did notice that the audience response seemed to grow more tepid as the show went on. And also it was not that great to begin with, but that could certainly be accounted for by the fact that I'm sure many of the people in the audience read the extremely negative reviews and were responding to that. It would have been interesting to see the show before any reviews came out. I would have been interested to see that and see if people responded very differently under those circumstances. But of course, that's. That's not possible. And that's. That's really, I think, really mostly what I have to say about the Queen of Versailles.
- [35:21]
D
All right, so Queen of Versailles is at the St. James Theater. Peter talked about it last week. You can catch that in last week's show. Reminder. Sherry Renee Scott is the standby, and she'll be on the role of Jackie Siegel on November 25, December 3 and January 20. Those are scheduled dates for her to be on right now. But of course, she could go on at any moment. So I always wait for them to call me. You know, James, 4,000 people couldn't go on tonight. So you're next up. Peter, you headed down to the Cherry Lane to see a production of We're W E E R. So tell us about this.
- [36:07]
C
Yeah.
- [36:10]
A
This is an extraordinary thing. And you really have to take your hat off. Every hat you have, you put it on and take it off. And Natalie Palamides, who wrote it, who directed it, who stars in it, and does an amazing job. Now, she does something that. That used to happen in vaudeville, partly with Quick Change artists, but sometimes there were performers. If you looked at them straight on, they would be bisected with their costumes and their makeup and their hair, one side being male, one side being female. And of course, when they turned to the right, you would see one sex, and when they turned to the left, you would see the other sex. So that's what she does here. And I didn't expect to be bowled over by it because I have seen this done before, especially in a show literally called Quick Change that was at the Bijou Theater, when there was a Bijou Theater before the Marriott Hotel came in. So. Okay, fine. And one of the reasons this one is so good is because there's a story attached. And it is about a young man, a young woman again, both played by Natalie, who we see their relationship. They start off in the here and now and they're breaking up. And then we go back and we see the history, and then we return to the here and now. What's really amazing is the voice. I mean, she has a wonderful feminine voice. And then when she has to be the guy, my God, you, you, you would think that it's coming from somewhere else. It is a completely different voice. It is totally masculine. It's an amazing achievement on that level as well. But she really knock himself out doing a million things. There were a million props too, including an enormous animal that shows up. And so I, I, the audience was tremendously engaged, especially when there was a bit of audience participation. One didn't have to be involved with it. People were thrilled to be involved in the performance I was attending. So I, it's, I, I hope this really has a long, long life with the Cherry Lane for more reasons than one. One, the Cherry Lane has had a hard time of it in recent seasons. It's been. The lobby has been tremendously renovated and instead of one restroom, there are now three, all single units. But nevertheless, it's easier than it used to be. It's a very handsome lobby now and there's a cafe to the side as well. The theater is pretty much the same, but the actual house itself. But. But so many performances at the Cherry Lane in the last five, seven, ten years have been solo performers. And I'm used to going there and essentially getting a stand up comedy routine. So this is a solo performer as well, but it sure isn't just a comedy routine. It is hilariously funny, especially at the end where, let's say our characters are in a Romeo and Juliet situation and I urge you all to go to see if it works out the same way that it does for Romeo and Juliet. I guess I'm implying that it isn't because after all I am saying it's hilarious and it really is. So one of the great surprises of the season, and I dare say that when people start mentioning awards time for solo performances, that this name is going to come up in nominations and in acceptance speeches.
- [39:58]
D
So Weir is been extended through December 21st at the Cherry Lane Theater. And according to the Cherry Lane Theater website, it's totally sold out. So hopefully that there is either an extension to the extension or maybe a cancellation line or maybe it will move to somewhere else. But. But I think that the audiences are two thumbs up and agreeing with you, Peter, that Go see Weir at the Cherry Lane Theater.
- [40:30]
A
The title turns out to be very apt too, by the way. Okay, I'm sorry I interrupted.
- [40:34]
D
No, no, that's okay. Do you want to say more about that or does that.
- [40:41]
A
No, no, that was. I just want. You just. I just want to say the title, which is odd, does turn out to have great meaning.
- [40:48]
D
Okay. All right, Michael, you got over to stage 42 to see Romeo and Michelle, the musical. Peter talked about it last week. What's your take on this?
- [41:00]
B
Well, it sounds like here we're doing going from the sublime to the awful. Unfortunately, I dislike this show intensely. I was not prepared, you know, I just thought it would be maybe some light musical version of a. Of a, you know, popular movie which I had not seen, by the way. I, I didn't expect. I guess I didn't envision how awful it could be. And I think the main problem here is that it has, I have to say, one of the worst scores I've heard for a long time in any new musical anywhere. I've often made the point that I think it's. It's. It's easier to write bad lyrics than bad music because lyrics have. They have a different kind of craft involved and I think it's easier to spot the flaws. Whereas with music you might have someone who writes music that's very undistinguished and, you know, not especially memorable and. And doesn't have great quality, but it's not going to necessarily strike you as, oh boy, this music is terrible. But that unfortunately is the case here. I. In my opinion, music and lyrics by apparently a husband and wife team, Gwendolyn Sanford and Brandon Jay, a book by Robert Schiff based on, as I said, a movie I had not seen. Romy and Michelle. The title of the film is Romeo and Michelle's High School Reunion. Title of the show is only Romeo and Michelle the Musical. It's playing at stage 42, otherwise known as the House of Flops, with one or two major exceptions, one one of them being the Yiddish fiddler. And somebody told me there was another. Oh, was it Puffs?
- [43:02]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Pops was there. Yeah, yeah.
- [43:05]
B
I think maybe it was you who mentioned that, James. Yeah, I think that was sort of a hit. But everything else there has had an extremely short run and for a specific. Partly for a specific reason, which I'll get to in a moment. I find this really interesting. This show was directed by Kristin Hange H J N G G I, whose work I really, really enjoyed in Bear, a pop opera years ago and also Rock of Ages on. So I. I don't know, I would say here to me she was just defeated by the material. I have made several notes. It may sound like I'm going from one thing to another, but I just. Several things that I had to mention. This show has several dream sequences in it. And the problem for me is that the.
- [43:57]
D
The.
- [43:58]
B
There was no. There was no real delineation between the dream sequences and the quote unquote reality sequences because all of it is done in such a over the top, cartoonish, heightened reality way in terms of the direction and the design and the performances and every aspect of the show. So for example, in the first act of this show there is a. A dream fantasy sequence of the girls going to their high school reunion. And it took me a really long time to figure out that it was just a fantasy. And it's not till Act 2 when we will see them Actually at their reunion. So I thought that was really very strange that that overall style, that cartoonish hit him over the head style is something I never respond to. So I guess they lost me as soon as they decided to do it that way. The cast is quite small, which leads to lots of very confusing and ineffective doubling. There is a unbelie, an unbelievably offensive, over the top cliche gay character named Toby played by someone named Jason, just Sean Jackson. And that apparently is a change from the movie. I am told in the movie that that was a female character who has now been made a gay male character. The strangest thing to me is Romy is played by Laura Bell Bundy, who I have loved in many past shows. And she does it with what sounded for all the world to me like a Minnesota accent. Even though Romeo and Michelle are supposed to be originally from Arizona and now living in la. Some reviewers have said that, that, that Laura Bell Bundy is aping the accent that Mira Sorvino used in the movie. As I said, I haven't seen the movie, so I can't say. But I, I, if that's true, then I, I, you know, I don't know why. If somebody says, go and get your coat boat and let's go outside. Is that, is that an LA accent? I just was very, very confused by that and I don't know what she was doing. Oh, I should mention, before this show began, and as it began, it seemed like the audience was really primed to love it, including the two women behind me who just really started applauding and whooping and shouting and screaming as soon as the music struck up. But as the show continue, similar to what I mentioned before with Queen of Versailles, it seemed like the applause after each number started to become more and more tepid. And that's really not a good sign. If you have an audience that really wants to love what they're seeing, but what you're giving them is so poor that they can only muster tepid applause. That's a really, really bad sign. I did think there was one good song in the show that occurs in the aforementioned dream sequence of the prom in Act 1, and it's called I want to dance with you. So if you do see it, or if you pick up the cast album when they make it, listen to that song and see if you agree with me. To me, it was almost like it was from another show. It was so much better than everything else. Let's see. Oh, here's what I will end with. And I Think this is interesting. Oh, well, I should also mention Carol Lindsay plays Michelle. And there are also wonderful performances by Jordan Kai Burnett as a sort of a goth character named Heather. She manages to be really excellent in the show despite the extremely poor material. There's a guy named Michael Thomas Grant who plays a character who is a nerd in high school. And you just know he's going to end up being like this dreamboat and incredibly successful guy when you see him at the reunion. And that's in fact what happens. But he does a good job of that. And the other trajectory is represented by Pascal Pastrana, who plays the sort of muscle jock that everyone loves in high school named Billy. And as you might expect, he winds up, no, no surprise, no spoiler. He winds up at the reunion having a pot belly and, and being an alcoholic. So everyone is good. It's just the material that's bad. But here's a really interesting thing. I noticed that throughout the show, most, if not all of the scenery, I guess all of it was being moved by the cast members. And, and interestingly enough, the, the car that is supposed to come up at the come out at the very end of act one, they had trouble getting it out and so it didn't come out at all. And Laura Bell Bundy and Carol Lindsay had to mime driving, you know, and then that led to an ad lib by Laura Bell at this top of Act 2 when she said, my God, I can't believe we had to walk all the way to California to, to Arizona. Arizona. So she was on top of that. But, but here's the thing. We have that one reason why there has never been a successful show, or almost Never at stage 42 is that it was originally owned by the Schubert's, who for some reason when the contracts were drawn up, their contract with the stagehands is that they would be paid as if it were a Broadway house for whatever reason. No one seems to know. So I'm wondering if they got around that somehow here by having the actors move all the scenery. I, I don't think it's a coincidence and maybe I'll see if I can do some research and find that out. But it certainly did strike me that that would be a, a kind of an ingenious way to, to get around that issue. I don't know if the union gave.
- [50:37]
A
Them.
- [50:39]
B
Yes, the thoughts.
- [50:45]
D
Stage hands and the people who move scenery. You know, it. It's pretty much set house to house and you pay that fee no matter what.
- [50:55]
A
Oh, I see.
- [50:56]
D
So having Actors move scenery does not save any money.
- [51:00]
B
Oh, really?
- [51:02]
D
Yes.
- [51:03]
B
H, well, then I, I wonder why.
- [51:06]
D
Yeah, no, I, I, I, I, I don't know anything about the, the contract set at stage 42, but certainly, you know, whether it be local one or, you know, anybody else, any union is going to take, take offense to somebody doing something to cut costs. I, I don't think that the contracts are the, are the problem there. We haven't seen good shows there. Well, that's got nothing to do with the contract. I mean, other than the Yiddish fiddler Rob Johnson brings up that it was Potted Potter, not, not Puffs. Puffs was at New World Stages.
- [51:46]
B
Oh, oh, okay.
- [51:48]
D
So, so, I mean, it, it would be a rare, rare day. I always been on Rob Johnston, but Rob could be wrong, but I don't think so.
- [51:59]
A
Oh, no, no, no.
- [52:00]
D
So, but I'm saying that we haven't seen, we haven't seen the right musical in stage 42 that would, would be a commercial success.
- [52:13]
B
I completely agree. But I do think on top of that, I mean, have you not heard that, that supposedly for some reason that the stagehands there get, get paid, get Broadway rates?
- [52:26]
D
I haven't heard that specifically. I have heard that it's expensive. It's got an expensive weekly running cost.
- [52:34]
B
Yeah. So that, that has contributed to that.
- [52:38]
D
Could be part of it. Yeah, sure.
- [52:40]
C
All right.
- [52:40]
B
Well, maybe, maybe, maybe the other part. I was just, you know, fantasizing. But, but I mean, the fact remains that the actors do move all the scenery in this show. And maybe then maybe it was just an artistic decision. Maybe they, maybe they didn't want to have, you know, just have stagehands walk out on stage and do it.
- [52:59]
D
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- [53:00]
B
But I also, I'm unclear as to how there must be some rules as to how much of that actors can be asked for to do, right?
- [53:09]
D
No. A.B. absolutely. And it's got to be artistic and things like that and automating scenery movements, whether it be tracking or flying or stuff like that, that can get incredibly, incredibly expensive. And also, you also need the technology to be able to fit into the venue that you're trying it in, you know, hence, you know, all the amazing stories of Starlight Express touring. You know, you can imagine Starlet Express going into like 26 different venues. How incredibly hard that would be for a very complex show. I, you know, but we, we have to see. I, I think that stage 42 just really hasn't had something that fits in there yet because it feels like a Broadway house, but it's getting off Broadway type of shows in there. So it's in, it's in no Man's Land. It's in the dmz, you know.
- [54:11]
B
Well, then they did have that, that, you know, Fiddler ran quite successfully there.
- [54:15]
D
Because it was great. Yeah.
- [54:17]
C
Right.
- [54:18]
B
So, you know, a lot to do with it, I guess maybe I thought at the time that that night might break the curse of the theater.
- [54:25]
D
Yeah.
- [54:27]
B
But, you know, we'll, we'll see what the future holds.
- [54:32]
D
Talking of great fiddlers, we, yeah, we are foreshadowing some other discussion that's going to come up in a little bit, but for right now, we will just say that I have it here. Romeo and Michelle, the musical is at stage 42 right now. We'll have a link to that in the show notes. Peter, you were over at the Roundabout Theater Company's Mary Merrill, Roundabout Theater Companies. Harold and Miriam Steinberg. I, I mished the two words together. Harold and Miriam Steinberg, center for the Theater, the Laura Pels Theater where you saw. Oh, you saw Soar. Oh, my goodness, I gotta stop drinking before I do these things on Sunday morning. Archduke is the name of the show at the Laura Peltz Theatre. So tell us about this.
- [55:27]
A
Well, the funny thing about Archduke is.
- [55:30]
D
That.
- [55:32]
A
When I finished, I went to see the aforementioned Weir and sitting next to me was Mark Miller, the excellent review of Talking Broadway. And he had just come from Archduke as well. He was saying, I'm not sure I got what happened. And I said, well, I have my interpretation, but I'm not sure I'm right. And this is a story about two young men who are in Europe in 1914. And Patrick Page, an extraordinary performance, no surprise, recruits them to kill the Archduke in Sarajevo and they're trained to do it. And a lot of hits, lots of misses in, in their trying to do it. And I got the impression at the end of the show when they're saying, you know, if we don't do it, history will just forget us and that'll be fine. I got, I thought, oh, you know what this is? This would be like if indeed we saw a play where a guy named Charles Hull was saying, I'm thinking of killing President Lincoln and I'm making the plan. I'm gonna go to Ford's theater, I'm gonna kill him. And you think, well, no, it didn't happen because of course we know that John Wilkes Booth did it. But who knows the names of the guys who. With the killing of the Archduke in the Sarajevo, we don't Know their names. I mean, if you. I imagine big history buffs do. But I dare say that astonishing percent of the audience would know the names of the people. So I thought, oh, this is great, you know, because here they are giving these people names and we don't know. So. So that's what I think might happen. But no, what happened? Yesterday I had lunch with John Leisler, a brilliant young man who has taught everywhere from Deerfield, Massachusetts to Jordan, the country. Excuse me. Oh, sorry. I hope I didn't catch that call from John. Anyway, so. But he informed me that indeed, the names of the people, the people who were involved in the assassination, because he's a real history buff and ironically enough, he was going to see Ragtime in the afternoon, he says. And he later emailed me and said, it's really interesting that there's a parallel between Gabriello, the person in Archduke, and indeed younger brother in. In Ragtime, because of the radicalization of young men who do need something to do that they are rather aimless. A very fine production of Archduke. Everybody in it is quite good. I will say that if you seen Christine Nielsen before, you may feel that you've seen her before, that she is doing things that she's done before, but she is doing with the part demands. So I have to give her credit for that very expensive production. My did they spend on the opening set? Must have cost a fortune. You never see it again. So. So a play that will confound you perhaps as much as it did confound me and Mark Miller, but certainly enjoyable while you're watching. And any opportunity to see Patrick Page with that astonishing voice, he's the Barry White of the theater. So it is worth taking advantage of. So by all means, think about getting to Archduke.
- [59:15]
D
All right, so Archduke is scheduled to run through December 21st, and we'll have a link to that in the show notes. So this morning we also wanted to mention that we talked about it. We actually talked about it off air. We actually didn't record about this last week. We were trying to get confirmation. We had heard that Elizabeth France had passed away. And we did get confirmation of it this week. Michael, you want to give us a little bit of information on this?
- [59:50]
B
Yeah, I believe she passed away on the 4th of November. And. But the obit wasn't in the Times until. Was it yesterday or the day before? So sometimes, you know, older people and even actors, they don't necessarily.
- [60:11]
A
If.
- [60:11]
B
If they're not active, they don't have someone. They don't have an active agent. Or a manager, and they don't necessarily have someone to sort of take the reins in terms of informing the press and writing opens and things like that. And I guess that's what happened with Ms. France. She really was an incredibly wonderful actress. I had the privilege of seeing her in Death of a Salesman, Brighton Beach Memoirs, and mornings at 7 on Broadway. I did not get to see her. And Sister Mary Ignatius explains it all for you. Off Broadway. I would have loved to see that. But, but aside from the fact that each of her performances was so wonderful, I think her range maybe was not fully recognized. And even just in terms of Brighton Beach Memoirs as opposed to Death of a Salesman, I, you know, thinking back, it's almost hard for me to believe it was the same person on stage. In Brighton beach memoir, she played the mother, Kate, opposite, you know, Matthew Broderick as she played his mother. And she used a very strident Brooklyn accent throughout the show, which is exactly what was required for what Neil Simon wrote in that play. And conversely, in Death of a Salesman, her, Linda Loman was, was really just full of quiet strength. Her, her vocal qual completely different. And it's, it's quite astonishing. I'm gonna have to check and see if that Brighton Beach Memoirs is in the Tuft collection at the, at the library at Lincoln center to remind myself if, you know, if indeed her performance in Brighton beach was, was as I remember it. But I, I really have a very clear memory of it. So I, I, I, I think it, it really was. And by the way, I'm happy to report I just discovered this yesterday that the TV version of that Death of a Salesman with Elizabeth France and Brian Dennehy and Ron Eldard and Ted Koch. Koch, I'm not sure how he pronounces it, is complete on YouTube in a very excellent quality transfer. So I think I actually have that earmarked for my viewing today, and I advise you all to check it out. It really was, I, I think it was overall the best Death of a Salesman that I've seen, and it's certainly, certainly great and not to be missed.
- [63:07]
D
All right, so that wraps it up for this week. Before we get on to our brain teaser and our special extended musical moment, I want to remind everybody that you can subscribe to this. You can subscribe to our podcast by going to the frontpage of broadwayradio.com this is subscribe link. That way, each and every time we have a new episode of this week on Broadway, it'll be automatically downloaded to Apple Podcast View of course, you don't have to listen to us in Apple podcasts as many ways to get us. One way is Patreon P-A-T-R-E-O-N.com BroadwayRadio. It's where you can support all of the Broadway radio shows as well as get us a little bit early and a few extra benefits like joining us on a Sunday morning if you choose to to listen to us record live and all the mistakes we make. Contact information for Peter, for Michael and me can be found in the show notes@broadridgeradio.com as well as links to some of the things we've talked about today. So, Peter, do you have an answer to last week's Brain Teaser?
- [64:06]
A
Indeed I do. Okay, in the early 60s, his music and lyrics were heard in three successive musicals, one after the other at the same Broadway theater.
- [64:14]
D
Theater.
- [64:15]
A
I'm talking about Sondheim at the majestic theater in 1963, the hot spot. He wrote a couple of songs. The next show was Anyone Can Whistle. And then A Funny Thing Happened on the Way. The Foreign moved there from the Albin now the Neil Simon theater in late 1964. Sean Logan was first, although he needed two hints. Tony Janicki was second, although he needed 22 hints. David Robinson was third, but needed no hints. The Janicky is dead. Long live the Robinson. All right, this week's question. You're on a subway in Boston. The train is noisy, so you can't quite make out what the passengers are saying to each other. But when you hear a person mention I saw a musical, you try to hear the rest. When he praises a performer, the name means nothing to you.
- [65:09]
D
You.
- [65:09]
A
But when he says the name of the character the performer played, you can narrow the musical down to Woman on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown or Annie, explain.
- [65:23]
D
I All along I thought subways were for sleeping. All right, if you have an answer for this, email us@trivia broadwayradio.com come let you know if you're on the right track. So in a special musical moment, Michael, you got down to the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia to see Fiddler on the Roof.
- [65:48]
A
Yes.
- [65:49]
D
So tell us about this Fiddler.
- [65:52]
B
Well, I'll say, first of all, this was the third production of Fiddler that I have seen in the space of about four months. Right. Because I saw a community theater production on Staten island in August, and then I saw that production in New Jersey in Red bank just about a month or so ago. And now this beautiful production of Fiddler at the Signature Theater in Arlington, Virginia. And I think it's a tribute to the show. First of all, that I didn't. Not only did I not hesitate to see all three productions, but I looked forward to them all. I mean, what other show is that gripping, great that you can honestly say you, you wouldn't tire of seeing three different productions in four months? I guess maybe there are others, but, but not many. I've always thought it as one of the great classics of musical theater and really just an over. An absolute masterpiece in, in every possible way. And this production was, was extremely successful on its own terms. Not the first production we've seen that has moved completely away from the original staging ideas by Jerome Robbins, but.
- [67:20]
D
But.
- [67:21]
B
Certainly one of the most successful to have done so. It, the. The space at Signature is somewhat malleable. It's sometimes three. I've never seen anything proscenium there. But in this case it is fully in the round. The audience is sitting on all four sides and then there are entrance ways at the corners. The concept I think was maybe built around the initial image. You see there's a huge communal table at the center of the action. Well, first it looks just like it could be a platform, but then it becomes covered by a tablecloth and becomes a table. And the cast enters and they, they sit around it and, and start singing tradition. And then of course they, they don't stay seated, but they, they dance around it and they, they dance on it at, at one point or another. And then after or during the number, that huge table breaks up into separate, separate set pieces which are then used to represent the bar in the tavern, Tevye's Milk Cart. Really very ingenious minimalist staging. Not, not for a moment did I think to myself, oh, I, you know, I really miss seeing scenery here. There was one door in the production at one corner of the stage that was used to very dramatic effect. One or two, you know, several times. But other than that, very few things you would actually describe as sets. Joe Calarco, as, as I think I mentioned was that was the excellent director, wonderful choreography by Sarah Parker, who I'm told is in the cast of Hell's Kitchen. And the excellent musical direction by John Kalb Fleisch. The orchestra, which numbered about 10 musicians, is up on a catwalk as they frequently are at Signature. And actually my only one of my few very minor cavils with the production was that they. Well, two things. They had a female fiddler and a female fiddler dressed, you know, in, in modern day garb as if she was a member of the orchestra, not, not in period costume. I do think that the fiddler in Fiddler has to be a man and he has to be dressed in period costume because he's also a character in the show representing the tradition that the people from Anatevka bring eventually bring with them to America. So I think that was a misstep. It would have been fine if it, I think if it was a male fiddler and he was, was still up on the catwalk because after all he's supposed to be on the roof. So that's, that's no problem there. But that was one of the few things I, I minded just the whole conception of the show. The, the timing, the, the, the, the tone of it, the pacing, everything was absolutely perfect. Douglas Sills has aged into being an absolutely wonderful Tevye in every, every possible way. He got all of the comedy of the, of the part, as one might expect, but also really the gravitas and the, and the drama as well. Golda Amy Bermowitz, also excellent Signature. They frequently mix Equity and non equity performers and most of them here were Equity. But a couple of the non equity people were standouts. I have to mention Lily Burka as Huddle and a fellow named Davis Wood, who was the best constable I've ever seen in any production of Fiddler. He chose to do it with a Russian accent, which arguably, arguably makes no sense because if he's got an accent, then why wouldn't everyone else? But I do think it helps if he and Fietka and the other Russian characters as they were here, have accents whereas the rest of the cast don't, because then makes the point of the Russians being the Other and not part of the community. So I had no problem with that at all. Other really wonderful performances. Jake Lowenthal I've seen in many shows down at Signature as Mottle fellow new to me, Ariel Naidavud as Perchik and, and just really it, it was, it was such a great success on, on every level. I, I'm so glad I saw it. I would actually consider going back again and making the trip. I, if, if there hadn't been so many, you know, fiddlers, not, you know, fairly recently in New York. And also if they could, you know, if they could be a short of getting Circle in the Square, which is unlikely, I, I would almost, I would almost, almost advise them to consider really moving it to Broadway. But I guess those things I mentioned work, work against that, so that probably won't happen. And I therefore advise you to hop on Amtrak or a bus or whatever and get down to Signature to see the show. So with all that in mind, our musical moments for today are from from this production, the the song Tradition, which is a one of the great opening numbers in musical theater history, as written by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Hornick. And, yeah, so the opener is the beginning of tradition, and the closer is the end of it. And please enjoy these precious moments from the Signature Theater production of Fiddler on the Roof.
- [73:40]
D
Okay, so on behalf of Peter, Felicia and Michael Portantier and Alex Lauer, this is James Moreno saying thanks so much for joining Broadway Radios this week on Broadway. Bye bye.
- [73:55]
B
Bye bye. Tradition. Without our tradition.
- [74:38]
D
Our lives would be as shaky as.
- [74:43]
A
As a Fiddler on the Roof.